Page 35 of The Rebel and the Rogue

“Shut up and move.” Barek shoved Gerian forward, the smaller male stumbling through the doorway. Astra followed. The door slid closed, and I was alone with Ivy.

She paced like a caged tiger in the small space. “He’s right. Cerberus was right. I killed all those people last night for nothing.”

“They were Cerberus.” That was all the justification I, or anyone on Rogue 5, needed for what had happened. For the carnage she’d caused.

She eyed me. “Are you telling me that Cerberus Legion doesn’t have children? Innocents?”

“Of course they do, but none of them were at the fight. They were home, asleep. Their mothers safe taking care of their children. We killed no innocents, Ivy. Do not torture yourself with guilt.”

She exhaled harshly. “But I failed.”

“You caught Gerian. You will receive your reward. You will be wealthy, Ivy. And you have avenged your loved ones.”

“Have I?” She shook her head, almost as if defeated. As if she realized that even though she’d captured Gerian Eozara, it wouldn’t bring her teammates back. “I don’t think so. He’s right. The Quell will keep coming. I need to take it out at the source. I need to kill Cerberus and blow up the lab.”

What? Surely I was hearing things. Kill Cerberus? Was she fucking insane?

“Ivy, no. Our spies reported that their labs are deep within Cerberus Legion’s territory here. We would never make it alive.” I moved closer, reached for her shoulder. I wanted nothing more than to pull her into my arms, comfort her, convince her to stay. “You should take Gerian and collect your bounty. Live in peace. That is what your friends would want for you.”

“It’s too late for that.” Her eyelids dropped, and her body seemed to lose all its energy. “No. I have twelve hours. I’m going to take him out, him and his lab.” She jerked away from my touch and stepped back, her blue eyes lifting to mine. “If I don’t come back, take Gerian to Zenith and ask a Coalition officer there to connect you with Elite Hunter Sabir. He works with the Intelligence Core. He’ll tell you what you need to do to collect the bounty.”

This wasn’t what I expected. She wasn’t done? Gerian wasn’t enough? When would it end? Would destroying the lab truly finish it? They’d build another, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. Instead I reminded her, “He is worth a small fortune, Ivy. You should have the reward.”

“It’s not about the fucking money. Don’t you get that yet?” She paced, tugged at her braid. “It was never about the money.”

I straightened my spine. “You will not go back to Cerberus Legion. I forbid it.”

Her blue eyes were cold once more. Ice fucking cold. “I gave you my word I would not go anywhere without informing you. That I wouldn’t go anywhere that put me in danger. You saw me last night, I was never in danger. And that was only while you were responsible for me. That is no longer the case. I’m truly rogue now. I’m informing you anyway, as a courtesy. I’m going. If I don’t come back, take Gerian in. Collect the reward. If you don’t want it, give it to Scylla and Nero’s parents.”

“I forbid it.” Stepping forward, I backed her into the wall, blocking her exit. “You will not go back there. I will tie you to my bed, Lieutenant. I will strip you naked and fuck you so hard you won’t remember how to get to Cerberus.”

She glared, her chest heaving. Nipples hard. I could smell her arousal. Her welcoming heat. “Yeah? And then what?”

I frowned. “I do not understand.”

She looked away. “That’s what I thought.” She shoved her way past me, and I let her go, unsure of what to do next. Unsure of what she meant.

I followed her into the corridor, unwilling to let her out of my sight. She was volatile. Dangerous. And I knew she meant what she’d said. Yet I could not allow her to risk her life by returning to Cerberus Legion.

She moved like a shadow, making no sound as we worked our way back toward my quarters. When we arrived, she stripped off the uniform Astra had given her and put her own Coalition uniform back on. I did nothing but watch. I was at a loss, confused by her new drive. By her words. Something had shifted between us, but I didn’t know what it was. When she rose to leave, I stood as well, blocking the door. “I cannot allow this, Ivy. I’m sorry.”

Her blue eyes met mine. Held. “So am I.”

She lifted her hand to reveal an ion blaster. Too late I realized exactly how far she would go to destroy her enemies. The blast hit me square in the chest and threw my body back against the wall. I fell, snarling as I fought to rise, but the weapon had been set to stun and it had worked. I couldn’t move.

“I am going to spank your ass until you beg my forgiveness, female,” I warned, struggling against the stun to get up. It was impossible. “Then I’m going to make you ride my cock until you scream.”

It seemed that wasn’t much of a threat because she fired again and I slid to the ground, a red haze of burning agony stealing my consciousness as she bent over me. The stun setting had been high.

I fought to stay with her, to protect her. I could not pass out, could not fall. She would leave. She would go to Cerberus Legion alone. She would be in danger.

She leaned close and kissed me, gently, on the cheek. “You would spank me and make me scream, but you wouldn’t bite me, would you, Zenos?”

I growled, still fighting. Barely. “Cannot. Dangerous.” The two words slurred together, sounded like one long jumble. I fought against the stun, against her words. Against what she wanted from me.

“Right.” With that, she fired one more stun blast and everything went black.

12

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